Business Idea of the Day

It all started with Barbara Barry’s new hobby, knitting. Whenever she’d learn something new she would find herself shopping at her local craft store for that new piece. Eventually those pieces would find themselves lost at the bottom of her knitting bag. So Barry took to the net in search of an all-in-one kit that would help put all those necessities together into a convenient package, reports the Idaho Statesman . But she didn’t find it.

At a time when pampering ourselves seems to be more of a necessity than a special treat, Ayanna Williams has put the fun back into the spa experience by selling a kid-friendly version, reports Business First of Buffalo . Williams created the business to pamper little girls, with all natural sweet treatments, from chocolate facials to banana pedicures. The children’s spa just opened on Niagara Falls Boulevard near Kenmore Ave., not far from the University at Buffalo south campus. Williams says she came up with the idea for the business after her daughter, Annaya, asked for her own special treatment after seeing Mommy at the “grown up spa.” Williams gave her a spa treatment at home and a business was born

Jean-Jacques Velkeniers lives in Belgium and since he was a little boy he wanted to go into space. Now that Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is selling seats on their spaceship for rides into space for only $200,000, Jean-Jacques can finally go. There’s only one problem: he doesn’t have $200 grand.

At first glance Cindy Reed’s kitchen seems normal, however it is anything but that. For starters, the staff from ‘Throwdown with Bobby Flay’ walked through this very same kitchen at one point, reports MyFoxHouston.com . Wilkins is the only person to win back to back Terlingua International Chili Championships

When her marriage ended Alicia Kavon decided to go to school and finish her bachelors degree. With a major in dance and a minor in fine arts, she fully intended to become a dance instructor when she graduated. However, with a little nudging from her friend, she became a Pilates instructor instead, reports The Commercial Appeal . Now in her fifth year as a successful business owner of Pilates Central on York Avenue, she feels she can breathe more easily. Business is steady and her job allows her the flexibility to be a mom first.

photo credit: fotoosvanrobin Two graduates of UC Berkley’s Business School think that they can turn used coffee grounds into high-profit mushrooms : What do mushrooms and a pile of used coffee grounds have in common? “Mushrooms biologically grow really well in hardwoods, and so, coffee acts like a hardwood biologically, and we can grow them pretty well in that,” said BTTR Ventures co-founder Nikhill Arora. The mushrooms aren’t caffeinated produce, they just absorb all the coffee grounds’ nutrients. So, why in the world are two new graduates from UC Berkeley’s Business School, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, growing mushrooms for a living? … Seeded by a $5,000 social innovation grant from Cal, they researched and launched a for-profit social venture called BTTR Ventures ; BTTR stands for “Back To The Roots.” The goal is to be a sustainable company focused on social responsibility.

As the owners of Water Impressions found out, the bottle is worth more than the water : The company, originally called Tennessee Branch Water, started out as a five-gallon bottle and cooler service that they purchased from its retiring owner. The Grahams had been customers of the water service for several years. They decided to buy the distribution rights from the owners, but they realized within a year that they could fill a niche in custom-labeled, half-liter bottles. “We thought, ‘Well shoot, if we can put our label on it, we can put anybody’s logo and label on it,’” Debbi Graham said.

“What does a grieving mother do after she loses a child?” asks The Taunton Gazette . Well, for Sharen Wendy Robertson relief came through the creation of a music CD. Roberton is the owner of The Story Train Literacy Center

Laura Heiden was working as a marketing manager when she stumbled upon jewelry as a creative outlet, reports Postbulletin.com . Last year, the 33-year-old’s infatuation with jewelry lead her to Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco, where she enrolled in two, intensive two-month programs in goldsmithing and stone setting. While in San Francisco, Heiden realized that she wanted to open her own studio, but her work requires the use of a torch. She knew she couldn’t work on her jewelry in her St. Paul condominium, so she started looking elsewhere

Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal : The focus of recent weeks may have been on Olympic Athletes, but only 1 in 10 who responded to a recent Business Pulse survey said that they would prefer their child to become one. Readers were presented with a very limited set of career choices for their children in the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal online survey: Olympic athlete, U.S. Senator, doctor or entrepreneur.